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offensive Definition

of·fen·sive (ə fen′siv; for adj., also ô′fen′siv)

adjective

  1. attacking; aggressive
  2. of or for attack
  3. ☆ designating or of the side that is seeking to score in any contest
  4. unpleasant, as to the senses; disgusting; repugnant an offensive odor
  5. causing resentment, anger, etc.; insulting

Etymology: ML offensivus < L offensa, offense

noun

  1. attitude or position of attack: often with the
  2. an attack or hostile action, esp. by armed forces

offensive Related Forms

of·fen′·sively adverb of·fen′·sive·ness noun

offensive Synonyms

offensive

modif.

  1. Concerned with an attack

    assaulting, attacking, invading; see aggressive 2.

  2. Revolting

    obnoxious, odious, opprobrious, disagreeable, displeasing, abhorrent, reprehensible, detestable, repulsive, repugnant, shocking, horrible, horrid, hideous, repellent, nauseating, invidious, nauseous, revolting, distasteful, impious, blasphemous, unspeakable, accursed, unutterable, dreadful, terrible, grisly, ghastly, bloody, gory, infamous, hateful, low, foul, corrupt, bad, indecent, nasty, dirty, unclean, filthy, sickening, malignant, rancid, disgusting, feculent, lousy, verminous, macabre, putrid, vile, impure, beastly, monstrous, coarse, ribald, noxious, loathsome, abominable, stinking, reeking, execrable, purulent, obscene, saprogenous, pernicious, smutty, damnable, distressing, irritating, uncongenial, unpleasant, uninviting, contaminated, unsympathetic, frightful, malodorous, unattractive, forbidding, disagreeing, adverse, inimical, repelling, incompatible, unsavory, intolerable, unpalatable, dissatisfactory, unpleasing, inharmonious, unsuited, objectionable, annoying, antipathetic, in disfavor, to one's disgust, beneath contempt, bad vibes*, cussed*, blankety*, helluva*, gosh-awful*, hell-fired*, icky*, jerkwater*, lousy*, mangy*, rummy*, snide*, two-bit*, pewy*; see also rotten 1, 3, shameful 1, 2, ugly 1, 2, vulgar 1, wicked 1, 2.

    Antonyms pleasant*, agreeable*, likable. *

  3. Insolent

    impertinent, impudent, insulting; see rude 2.

offensive, the most neutral and mildest of the words treated here, refers to that which evokes dislike or aversion; hateful is applied to that which provokes extreme dislike or aversion; odious stresses a disagreeable or offensive quality in that which is hateful; detestable refers to that which arouses vehement dislike or antipathy; obnoxious is applied to that which is very objectionable to one and causes great annoyance or discomfort by its presence; that is repugnant which is so distasteful or offensive that one offers strong resistance to it; that is abhorrent which is regarded with extreme repugnance or disgust; abominable is applied to that which is execrably offensive or loathsome

offensive Synonyms

offensive

n.

attack, position of attack, invasion, assault; see attack 1.

offensive Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • launch: On 21 March 1918, the German Army launched a massive offensive against the British lines near the town of St Quentin.
  • mount: Whenever the prudes mount a censorship offensive, their favorite line of attack is suicide.
  • resume: Al Qaeda is living in the expectation of resuming the offensive.

Adjective modifier

  • anti-social: As part of the anti-social offensive, the logic of the bourgeoisie is that there are no problems which belong to the whole society.
  • neo-liberal: But the Charter is a great stimulus for us to re-examine the means by whereby the Neo-liberal offensive was carried through.
  • ideological: An ideological offensive was launched to create a climate of fear, insecurity, intolerance and personal greed.
  • allied: It also played an important role in the Strategic Bomber Offensive and the daylight raids in support of the Allied offensive in Europe.
  • Israeli: A new Israeli offensive began on 15 October 1948, with the object of pushing Egyptian forces from the besieged Negev region.
  • German: The German offensive which began on 27th May 1918 had both.

Modifies a noun

  • weapon: We have also proposed ways to move ahead to reduce further offensive nuclear weapons under START III.
  • odor: All emissions should be free from offensive odor beyond the process site boundary as perceived by the Inspector.
  • remark: I will refrain from returning your offensive remarks in the interests of mature debate.
  • graffito: Graffiti on Council property is removed within 7 days as standard with offensive graffiti removed within 24 hours of report.
  • rebound: Pope quickly added 2 more points leaping high to grab the offensive rebound from Young's missed shot and take the points.
  • warfare: Part two looks at the specifics of offensive information warfare.

Used with adjective complement

deem: Disclaimer: The content of some web sites may be deemed offensive to certain individuals.

Noun used with modifier

  • charm: One U.S. official called it a " charm offensive.
  • propaganda: Well, the answer is: we have been subjected to the biggest propaganda offensive that the human race has ever known.
  • bomber: However, as the RAFâs night bomber offensive grew, they were used with the Pathfinder Force and in other roles within Bomber Command.
  • bombing: She also presented the open-ended coverage for ITV News on the night the US started their bombing offensive in Kabul in Afghanistan.

Browse dictionary entries near offensive

  1. ‹ offenseless
  2. ‹ offense
  3. ‹ offended
  4. ‹ offend
  5. ‹ offence
  6. ‹ Offenbach
  7. ‹ offbeat
  8. ‹ Offaly
  9. ‹ offal
  10. ‹ off year
  1. offer ›
  2. offer of proof ›
  3. offer up ›
  4. offered load ›
  5. offering ›
  6. offering circular ›
  7. offering memorandum ›
  8. offertory ›
  9. offhand ›
  10. offhandedly ›